U.S. hopes to lower tobacco tariffs in Asia

4:13 PM,
Aug. 22, 2013

Written by

The Washington Post

Pretty soon, if U.S. representatives negotiating a secretive trade deal get their way, tariffs on tobacco in poor Asian countries will sink to zero - and those countries will have a hard time protecting their citizens against a tidal wave of cheaper cigarettes.

For several decades, the United States has relentlessly fought tobacco use. Anti-smoking ad campaigns, prominent warning labels, smoking bans and high taxes have had their desired effect: The smoking rate has been dropping for decades and this year reached a new low of 18 percent among people 18 and older.